In a Flash
by anotherredhead
Summary: A missing moment and peek inside the characters' minds during the "The Avengers", a brilliant episode which was lacking only in a little romance.


**Author's Note:** I don't own these characters, and the original Season 11 episode was written by Donn Mullally. Warning: So sugary it may cause cavities.

In a Flash

Kitty Russell swallowed hard and willed herself not to cry as she was led out to the beautiful old tree. If ever a situation warranted tears it was this one, but she was not going to give them the satisfaction. They could beat her, call her a harlot and a thief, even sentence her to death after a sham trial on trumped up charges, but the "honorable" Judge Calvin Strom and his band of misfit sons couldn't break her spirit. She simply wouldn't allow it.

They hoisted her onto the horse with such force that she almost tumbled over the other side. She instinctively tried to catch herself, forgetting for that brief moment that her hands were tied securely behind her back. She quickly locked her knees and managed to keep from falling head first onto the ground. Not that it mattered much now.

A few feet away, Festus Haggen was already sitting atop the horse designated for him. If Kitty could only get one of them out of this predicament she would choose Festus. He was there because of her, and even though she was blameless in this hideous sequence of events she still felt responsible. He was a loyal friend, and he was going to die for it. She forced herself to look at him one last time and saw a myriad of emotions—anger, disgust, resignation. One she did not see was regret. Festus Haggen would rather die a man than live a coward.

Doc Adams had not given up hope for a miracle. As he helplessly stood beside the two chestnut horses, unwitting accomplices in his friends' executions, hope was all he had left. He was outmanned, outgunned, and powerless. He had exhausted every argument, every stall tactic in his arsenal. He had been appointed defense attorney in this mockery of a murder trial, and he had failed. Somewhere inside he knew that success was not an option, that the outcome had been predetermined long before he had been forced there at gunpoint. But that was no consolation at the moment. Kitty had been like a daughter to him for eleven years, and Festus was a fine and decent man he was proud to call a friend despite their frequent verbal sparring. Doc suddenly wished he had said that out loud a time or two. Now he was about to lose them both, and the thought was excruciating.

Where was Matt? They knew it was a long shot. His leg wound was serious, and most men wouldn't have been able to mount a horse much less ride off in what promised to be a lengthy pursuit. The Kansas prairie was vast and he had no way of knowing where they were. Time was of the essence, and it was their enemy. As much as they dreamed of him riding up on his buckskin to save them, the chances were very slim. Still, it had happened before…

Kitty's heart raced as Strom pulled the noose over her head and fastened it around her neck. This was really happening. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her last sight had been the anguished face of her dearest friend, and she couldn't bear to see it again. She had to replace it with a new image, something that would comfort her during her last moments on earth. There was no doubt what that would be.

He wasn't physically there, but by sheer determination she felt his arms envelope her. It was a widely held belief that some people saw their lives flash before their eyes right before they died, and if Kitty could help it she would be one of them. She'd had the kind of life that a woman would want to see again, just to remind her of how lucky she had been. Not the whole life, but certainly the past eleven years. That was when it really began.

Whether she had made it happen or a higher force was at work, Kitty didn't know. But the images began firing through her brain, one right after another in rapid succession. A dark-haired, blue-eyed stranger eating an enormous breakfast; a young, very tall marshal walking into the saloon and flashing a smile that made her shiver; a picnic at the lake and a memorable first kiss; dancing at the Ford County Sociable; opening her bedroom door and finding a welcome after hours visitor; gripping the bedpost as he entered her and sent her into ecstasy; collapsing into his arms after he rescued her from the criminals who kidnapped her and held her for ransom. She instantly felt safe again in his arms, and that was the image she was holding onto when a shot rang out.

GSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGS

Matt Dillon's horse galloped at full speed over the rocky terrain, every step sending an explosion of pain through his thigh. Strom's bullet had torn into his flesh and lodged near the bone, testing Doc's skill as a surgeon. He had handled it with his typical expertise, but this injury needed more than a day to heal. Matt was surely undoing some of Doc's handiwork with this ride, but he had no other choice. Kitty and Festus had disappeared, and he knew who was responsible. When he saw Strom's son leading Doc away, he got a knot in the pit of his stomach. Someone was hurt. Matt waited a safe amount of time before following the tracks that led in the direction he saw them taking Doc, praying that those were still the right tracks. It was all he had to go on.

_I'm going to see that these two stand trial for murder if it's the last thing I do. _ Strom's words pierced his soul and shook him to the core. If he had done what he wanted to do in the saloon that day, this wouldn't be happening. His instinct had been to choke the life out of that miserable excuse for a judge the instant he accused Kitty of luring that animal to her room. Of course he would be the one looking at a rope had he done that, but better him than her. Why hadn't he protected her? He should have known she was in danger, never let her out of his sight. Festus had protected her in his absence, and he was paying the ultimate price for it. The guilt was overpowering. What if he didn't get there in time? No, he couldn't think like that. He had to concentrate on finding them, and he would. He refused to consider otherwise.

The tracks led him up a hill, and in the distance he could see a group of people down below. He swiftly tugged on the reins, swinging his good leg over the saddle and dismounting as gently as possible. Even with a soft landing, his considerable weight put enough stress on the wound that he almost screamed in agony. He caught himself just in time and let out a low grunt as he bit his lip.

He managed to get a better look at the scene in the distance, and it sent his heart into this throat. Kitty and Festus sat side by side on horses with their backs to him, ropes leading from tall tree branches to their necks.

Matt grabbed his rifle and limped behind a tree, holding a bloody hand over the gaping hole in his leg. It might have been his imagination, but he could have sworn that Doc just looked right at him. Calvin Strom shouted something and his son picked up a branch, preparing to send the horses on their death run. He cocked the rifle, fully aware that he had one chance, one tiny window of opportunity to save two lives. What if he failed? What if the gunfire spooked the horses? He tried to send a telepathic message to his friend. _Stay near the horses, Doc. Keep the horses under control._

As he began to squeeze the trigger, something happened to Matt that he had never experienced, something that defied explanation. His entire life with Kitty flashed through his mind, from the first time he laid eyes on the beautiful redheaded stranger in Delmonico's to the soft, gentle goodbye kiss that he never imagined might be their last. He could see her face, feel her embrace, smell her perfume, taste her lips, hear her laugh in a sensory utopia that lasted but a brief moment yet was fully real. In all of his years as a lawman, as many times as he had found himself in dangerous situations, he had never seen his life flash before him that way. But this time it was Kitty's life he saw slipping away, not his own, and that struck a fear in him that his own mortality never had. If he lost her he lost them, and living as half a person was worse than dying. It was his last thought before the first shot fired.

GSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGS

Kitty felt the horse jump beneath her and quickly shifted her weight to stay balanced. She didn't know where the shot had come from, but somehow she was still alive. Two more shots rang out, and Doc grabbed reins in both hands to steady the two horses. After the third shot, Kitty and Festus saw their would-be executioners on the ground as Doc quickly cut them loose and helped them down.

It had all happened so fast, and Kitty still wasn't sure how she had gone from condemned prisoner to free woman. She spun around in confusion, and then she saw him. He was still holding the rifle in one hand, his leg with the other, leaning against a tree in the distance and looking as though it might be the only thing keeping him upright.

Kitty took off running as fast as her rubbery legs would take her. She was weak and dehydrated, but the rush of adrenaline carried her toward him until she tripped on her skirt and fell a few feet from where he lay. She crawled the rest of the way, until she felt him grab her hand and pull her into him with one strong arm. He squeezed her so tightly that she could hardly breathe, but she didn't care. There would be plenty of time to breathe later, this was what she needed now. She couldn't help but release the tears she had withheld from her captors, and they soaked into his shirt as he kissed her on top of the head, over and over. "Shh. We're okay," he whispered with relief, as much to himself as to the lover who made him whole again. "We're okay."

The End


End file.
